Design, Architecture, Gardens, Southern California Living

Bravo's '9 by Design' unleashes two designers and their 7 children in your living room Tuesday

April 12, 2010 | 8:11
am

Bob and Cortney Novogratz may be the new reality stars to love/hate.

Their show, “9 By Design,” premieres Tuesday on Bravo and chronicles the couple’s work as high-end designers and property flippers in New York. The two routinely gut and renovate buildings, transforming dingy digs into urban-cool, art-adorned spaces. But there’s just one little detail: The Novogratzes have seven kids, and they often flip their own homes, which means that some of the show’s drama is based on the reality of living as urban nomads with a passel of children in tow.

The show follows the family as they tackle a series of design jobs over six months, including a 24-room motel in New Jersey. And even though the Novogratzes' signature high-low style is more high-end than Target, the show makes a point to focus on affordability.

“We really were aware of how people shop across the country, what they can afford, because we’re going through financially challenging times ourselves,” says Cortney, who added that first-season projects include a Brooklyn home redone entirely in Pier 1 Imports products. “Then for a 4,000-square-foot Hamptons house, we install an IKEA kitchen, but then for the same project, we also commission artist Richard Woods to do an installation on the front of the house. So it’s a mix.”

Amid the multiple projects, the Novogratzes still have time to be hip. Bob looks like a cross between Quentin Tarantino and Robert Evans, and Cortney, whether she’s pregnant or not, is always perfectly SoHo stylish. Love? Loathe? You be the judge.

-- Alexandria Abramian Mott

Keep reading to see images from the Novogratzes' book, "Downtown Chic" ...

Photo credits: Family portrait from Bravo; all other photos from Rizzoli